St. PJ's eNews: April 18, 2026

In this week's admittedly abridedition:

- Tomorrow: Cherry Blossom Festival - St. PJ's Jazz table and street closures!


- Margins and Movements: Social-justice book club dates


- News from the Wider Church: Archbishop of Canterbury supports Pope Leo on Iran, and more


- This Sunday at St. PJ's

  • Cycles of Prayer
  • Video: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon


- There's Always More...

Tomorrow: Cherry Blososm Festival - St. PJ's jazz table and street closures!


The Wooster Square Cherry Blossom Festival is tomorrow, Sunday, April 19, from noon to 4pm! The St. PJ's Jazz Collective will have a table in the new arts and culture engagement zone to promote their May 11 concert -- be sure to stop by and say hello.


Please allow note the following parking bans beginning at 8:00 AM - vehicles will be towed:

🚫 No parking or traffic from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM on:⁣

Academy Street⁣

Greene Street (Olive to 265 Greene St)⁣

Hughes Place⁣

Wooster Place⁣

🚗 No through traffic, but parking is permitted on:⁣

St. John Street⁣

Chestnut Street (St. John to Greene)⁣

St. John Extension⁣

Jefferson Street (Grand to St. John)⁣


Margins and Movements:

Social-justice book club dates


Our social-justice book club will meet at the church on Tuesday, 4/28, 7 p.m., to discuss "The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You" by Dina Nayeri.


Looking ahead, we will also gather on Tuesday, 5/26, to discuss "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson, and again on Tuesday, 6/23, to discuss "Disarming Leviathan: Loving your Christian Nationalist Neighbor" by Pastor Caleb Campbell.

News from the Wider Church:


- [AP] Archbishop of Canterbury expresses solidarity with Pope Leo XIV in calling for peace in Iran: https://apnews.com/article/archbishop-canterbury-pope-leo-mullally-peace-trump-4611a3c2a0dbf1cc44c8f52f516349c3


- [RNS - Jim Wallis] Pope Leo has spoken. Now other faith leaders must follow. https://religionnews.com/2026/04/17/pope-leo-has-spoken-now-other-faith-leaders-must-follow/


- [Episcopal Church] Christina Bouri hired as Middle East fellow for The Episcopal Church: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/publicaffairs/christina-bouri-hired-as-middle-east-fellow-for-the-episcopal-church/


- [ENS] Church panelists argue US war in Iran fails tests of both ‘just war’ and pacifist traditions: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/04/15/church-panelists-argue-us-war-in-iran-fails-tests-of-both-just-war-and-pacifist-traditions/


- [ENS] San Diego diocese’s shelter in Tijuana offers migrant women and children safety, stability: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/04/17/san-diego-dioceses-shelter-in-tijuana-offers-migrant-women-and-children-safety-stability/


- [Christian Century] LGBTQ faith leaders say Supreme Court's conversion therapy ruling will harm youth: https://www.christiancentury.org/news/lgbtq-faith-leaders-say-supreme-court-s-conversion-therapy-ruling-will-harm-youth

This Sunday at St. PJ's

Come by 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, Sunday, April 19, for Holy Communion with jazz worship music, children's Sunday School, and Coffee and Community Hour.


Give yourself a little extra time to park as the Cherry Blossom Festival gets set up -- and be sure to check it out after church!


Serving this Sunday:

Officiant

The Rev. Nathan Empsall

Preacher

Marilyn Bergen

Liturgical Assistant

Tudy Hill

Lectors

Tudy Hill & Sally Fleming

Altar Guild & Bread Baker

Pam Sayre

Easter Sunday

10:30 a.m.


Jazz Eucharist


In person and online

Wednesday

12:30 p.m.



Quiet Communion


In person only

Thursday

12:30 p.m.



Midday Prayers


In person only

Cycles of Prayer and St. PJ's Prayer List


In the Episcopal Church in Connecticut cycle of prayer for April 19, we pray for Christ Church, Middle Haddam; St. George’s, Middlebury; Holy Trinity, Middletown; and for clergy whose work is not in parishes, multi-vocational priests, supply clergy, and those whose ministry is carried out in other countries or dioceses.


In the Anglican Communion Cycle of Prayer, we pray for the Church of the Province of Myanmar (Burma).


On the St. PJ’s prayer list, we pray for Rachel, Doug Parker, Anne Matthies, Calvin Griffin, Rev. Walter MacNutt, Kevin Gerbe, Leota Tucker, Edwina Johnson, Cynthia King, Paul D'Agostino, Richard Holcomb, Tiras Jaske, Uli Mackert, Charlie & Bridget Farrell, Alyce, Pam, Tommy, Beverly Lett, Stephen Lett, Vanetta Lloyd, Janea Barthle, Lydia Hamnquist, Rita Valenti-Piovane, Heather de Lanerolle, Marietta D’Albero, Maria Rodriquez, Marietta Coppola, Paul Mangels, Alexandra Sanseverino, Dr. Milton Coke, Pam Yesner, Rev. Carl Scovel, Karl Mini, Patrick Reynolds, Margaret Perry, Ryan Welch, Jack Welch, Andy & Karla Codney, Kyle Park, Fr. Tom, George Moore, A. J. Crosby, Adrienne Brady, Jeannie & Clemente Campos, Jean Douglas, Joan Cappella, Ruby Slade-Wooten, Joan Farrell, Yvonne Scott, Sharyn Kessler, D.J. Multer, Al Cimino, and John Ayer.


Candidate for Ordination: Milton Gilder


Departed: Christian Gilder (brother of Milton Gilder)


Birthdays: Dwayne McDowell (4/23)

VIDEO: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon


Last week, the second Sunday of Easter, was a service of Morning Prayer with Tudy Hill preaching and officiating.


If you either missed or want to revisit last Sunday or other recent Sundays at St. PJ's, you can find the recorded livestream on our Facebook and/or YouTube pages.

Recent Vestry Minutes


Your Vestry met on Wednesday, March 18. As part of that meeting, the minutes for the previous meeting in January were approved (there was no February meeting).


You can read the now-approved January 14 minutes here (PDF).


The March minutes will be approved at the Vestry's next meeting, scheduled for this Wednesday, April 22, at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. They will be made available following approval.

Support Loaves & Fishes and Sunrise Cafe during renovation

There's always more...


Please remember that there is a blue Lost & Found bin in the church office.


If you would like to submit an item for consideration in the eNews or bulletin announcements, please let Rev. Nathan know at revnathan@stpaulstjames.org by next Wednesday afternoon.


Please contact Monifa Atkinson in the church office at office@stpaulstjames.org or (203) 562-2143 if you are interested in receiving more information about any of the following:


- Renting space at St. PJ's for your next party, meeting, concert, wedding, or other event. More info at the St. PJ's website here >>


- Volunteering with St. PJ's


- Adding a name, birthday, or anniversary to the St. PJ's prayer list


- Arranging pastoral care needs


- Purchasing grocery-store gift cards to benefit St. PJ's


- Reserving a place in the St. PJ's columbarium or purchasing a plaque on the Memorial Wall

St. PJ's Staff and Contacts

 

Administrative Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - Noon

Priest Office Hours: Tuesday - Thursday by appointment

office@stpaulstjames.org

(203) 562-2143


  • Priest-in-Charge: The Rev. Nathan Empsall, revnathan@stpaulstjames.org, (203) 278-9199
  • Administrative Director: Monifa Atkinson, office@stpaulstjames.org
  • Sexton: Sammy Rodriguez
  • Children's Ministry: Molly Clayton
  • Interim Director of Music: Dylan Rowland
  • Tech and Music Intern: Dontae James
  • Seminary Intern: Kelly Park
  • Vestry: Bill Evans (co-warden), Juhani Jaske (co-warden), David Hill (treasurer), Maggie King (clerk), Maurice Harris, Pam Sayre, Vanetta Lloyd, Lynne Severance, David Boyer, Roni Holcomb
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